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Myth Box

Myth is a cooperative game for 2 to 5 players developed and published by MERCS Miniatures. A complete game in Myth is called a Story. Each Story is played over three Acts. Acts can be played sequentially, or can be split up over three different game sessions. Each Act lasts 2 hours.

Myth Heroes in Battle

Players' avatars within a Story are called Heroes. Myth Heroes are clothed in immense power, able to reave all but the mightiest foes. However, this power must be balanced lest the Darkness take too much notice. Players must weigh their actions against the Threat each will bring, with the consequences of awakening more evil and bringing doom on the party's endeavors. And be careful they must, as the Darkness is formidable and eager to snatch glory from the valiant.

Heroes are controlled through an intuitive Hero Deck (videos for each Hero can be found in the Game Play Videos section below). Each deck plays uniquely and allows players more freedom of action and the ability to truly impact the Story each and every Act. Yet, cooperation is the key to victory and bloody fortune. Players must communicate, interact, and assist each other or surely the Darkness will cover all.

Hero board

Hero cards

Item cards

Myth is a fully cooperative game. There is no player controlling the Darkness. The Darkness is governed by a set of rules unique to each Boss Deck. Yet, the Darkness is activated through Hero actions. If the Heroes get overzealous, then the Darkness pushes back by activating Lairs, spawning Captains, and punishing the Heroes with devious Events. If the Heroes take a more subtle approach, then the Darkness reacts by reducing the potential for treasure and rewards. Without the treasures and equipment to upgrade, the Heroes will find each Act more difficult and eventually fail. The dynamic nature of the Darkness really lends a more fluid feel to the Story. Players aren't being driven by properties out of their control, nor are they being shepherded by a person whose skill has a direct impact on the enjoyment of the game.

Creature sculpts

Myth setup offers players the freedom to experiment and create the Story they want. Each Act is created by placing the double-sided World Tiles in any configuration desired, then each tile is populated through random card draws (or by choice). Enemy-types, quests, treasure, merchants, and events are all variables controlled by players. Each Story is unique and breathed to life by the players.

Myth is a fun fantasy romp where players feel truly heroic. In the playing of the game, the players are creating their own mythos. These stories are the ones carried away from the table, becoming myths themselves. And these are the myths, with friends and family, that we carry with us; telling and retelling our endeavors at the mead benches, earning treasured smiles and laughter.

For the past eight years I've worked as a Graphic Designer for BradyGames,
learning good design and what it means to develop a property. During that time, I also co-founded MERCS. I've been at the
helm of the visuals since the beginning. It started as an outlet to quench my thirst for drawing
and painting. It has always been my passion to create amazing characters and worlds.

Myth has been an exciting project
to tackle. I felt
inspired from the earliest discussions about it. It is a simple but potent
idea of warriors sitting around a campfire spinning grand tales. Stories
of amazing creatures and quests that would become a reality for the
player. It's a great idea that acted like a spark.

Visually I wanted Myth to be colorful,
full of energy, and appealing to a broad age group. I wanted to create a
look that has depth, but you can also feel good about playing it with
your kids. I hope you enjoy the look as much as I do. It offers loads of
inspiration for me as an artist, and with your help it can continue to
grow.

Brian Shotton – Game Design

The Myth project started a year and a half ago on a plane to PAX Prime. Kenny and I, with nothing better to do on a four hour flight, began talking about games we wish existed or games we wish were different. We quickly landed on the fantasy genre, as old school D&D was very dear to our hearts. We wanted a game that would allow us to feel heroic, to feel like we were what we claimed to be.

Fast forward a couple months. I am fiddling with what would become the card system for the Myth Heroes when a thought sprang full-born from my brain, an Old-English thought actually - boasts made on the mead benches (or around a table at your local FLGS) must hold true. We must be true to our words and these fables we weave must be played out. Kenny and I started laying the foundation of the game that weekend. Many months later, here we are.

I have been in and around hobby gaming for most of my life. My first design, MERCS, has afforded me many an opportunity in the hobby game industry. Myth is a very fun game and it pleases me to put my name on this game.

Kenny Sims – Game Design

I've been a gamer my entire life - board games, video games, role-playing games, all of them. Gaming has given me so much pleasure over the years. I've always wanted to create games that others could enjoy. Working with Brian and Keith to create Myth has given me the opportunity to bring that dream to life.

In creating Myth, we wanted to make a cooperative game where no one had to be the bad guy. A game where a group of friends could come together and have an adventure, facing menacing foes and challenging odds in a shared story, where everyone has a part to play and each role is just as important as any other. I'm extremely pleased with the end result and can't wait to hear the stories of other adventurers as they experience Myth.

Special Thanks

To all of our family and friends who have supported us. Thanks to Chris Doughman for his outstanding design work on this project, Jeff Weissenberger for his amazing voice talent, Colin King for his cool Myth logo treatments, and Bart Stoop for allowing us to use his inspiring song titled "Titans Will Rise" in our videos.

Risks and challenges

Through MERCS we have produced miniatures, dice, books, cards, maps, and counters.

From past experience, anytime we've dealt with sculptors, printing, and production in terms of timing things can arise. We have successfully delivered multiple products produced in China, as well as dice produced in the UK. We understand that when it comes to anything produced overseas, delays can happen, especially with shipping and customs delays. Luckily, we have multiple people on the ground in China that shepherd our stuff from place-to-place and keep us updated in terms of where things are.

We've done our best to minimize unknowns as much as a company can, and we are always happy to refund pledges if for some totally unforeseen reason the game can't be delivered at all. Since the game is 60% complete, we don't believe this is the least bit likely.

Any MERCS player will tell you that our rapport with our communities is one of our strengths. We put out a lot of updates and communicate things as they happen. We'll communicate all pieces and parts through the Kickstart update tab as well as a simple Myth webpage.

Every model is in either an advanced stage of sculpt or in production. 70% of the art is done. In effect, we have nine months to print and produce Myth. We've given ourselves a large window and if we can, will deliver the game early.

It can be played by one person using two or more Heroes without changing the rules one iota.

If you want to play just one Hero against the Darkness, then yes. The game can be played solo. However, it requires a little tweaking to the Darkness AP and Bosses. We plan on releasing these tweaks as a pdf once the game is produced.

You'll be able to play the game completely with the base game. However, you'll be limited in how you populate the tiles by how many miniatures you have. A large 12" x 12" tiles can have two lairs spawning multiple creatures. Without additional minion miniatures, these tiles will ALWAYS need to be of two different enemy-types. With additional minions, you will be able to create a tile that is all Arachnid or all Orc (or all Skeleton, if we hit that stretch goal). More minion miniatures means more freedom for you to tell the story you want.

The Kickstarter system does not allow the editing of pledge level text after things have gone live. As stretch goals have unlocked we wanted, and thought we could, update the pledges to represent things have been added, we could not. The pictures are correct.

Pledge $2,000 or more

1 backer
All gone!

Trickster Level - x2 Captain Level (including all stretch goals) + 1 Copy of Myth (base game) signed by team + 20 of ALL Minions + 2 of ALL Captains + 2 of ALL Captains in Metal + 1 set of ALL Heroes in Metal professionally painted by BTP + ALL Class T-shirts + Be immortalized in game as a Mini-boss miniature and card (including name and art likeness) + Framed and Signed Mini-boss likeness art print.

Estimated delivery:Feb 2014

Only ships to: United States

You selected

Pledge $2,000 or more

1 backer
All gone!

Trickster Level - x2 Captain Level (including all stretch goals) + 1 Copy of Myth (base game) signed by team + 20 of ALL Minions + 2 of ALL Captains + 2 of ALL Captains in Metal + 1 set of ALL Heroes in Metal professionally painted by BTP + ALL Class T-shirts + Be immortalized in game as a Mini-boss miniature and card (including name and art likeness) + Framed and Signed Mini-boss likeness art print.

Estimated delivery:Feb 2014

Only ships to: United States

Funding period

Mar 25, 2013 - Apr 24, 2013
(30 days)

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